U20 Women’s and U19 Men’s Fifteens Teams Rosters

BC Rugby announces the roster for both U20 Women’s and U19 Men’s Fifteens Teams competing at the Canadian Rugby Championship (July 14^th-19^th) in Markham, Ontario.

The BC Rugby U19 Men’s Fifteens Team will be aiming to win a fifth title in the last six years, while the BC Rugby U20 Women’s Fifteens Team is looking to claim top spot in the country for the first time.

Both rosters will feature a number of players who have previously been part of National Rugby Festival winning Teams with BC Rugby at the U16 and U18 levels, in addition to several players who have represented Rugby Canada in U18 and U20 competitions.

BC Rugby U20 Women’s Coach, Dave Grisdale stated “From our first meeting we talked about team values of required discipline, courage and respect to play the game that suits this team and the message heading into the CRCs is to focus on the process and the outcome will take care of itself.”

The BC Rugby U20 Women fielded a young team in 2015 and struggled at times against more established competition.

This year’s side features a balance of newcomers, veterans as well as some of the future stars of Canadian Women’s University Rugby.

BC Rugby U20 Women’s Team scrum-half, Nicole Crowley mentioned “There are a lot of new faces in this squad, and through the short time we have been training, we have come together as a cohesive unit.”

She continued “We will be looking to build off the base we have established over the past few weeks and continue to build towards each game and obviously we want to do well in Toronto, so sticking to the game plan and following the process will be essential.”

The BC Rugby U19 Men captured the 2015 CRC title in dramatic fashion, as a potential Championship winning penalty kick from Ontario Blues’ fullback Andrew Coe was turned back by strong winds on the final play of the game.

This year, the Men from BC know that they will face another strong test from their rivals, with teams aiming to take down the reigning champs.

BC Rugby U19 Men’s Team Coach, Curry Hitchborn told the media “This is a very talented group of players who are fierce University rivals, but who have come together to represent BC.”

He continued “The core of this team won the U18 Nationals with BC Rugby as sixteen year-olds, and players like Nick Frost, Liam Doll, Callum Botchar and Connor Sampson have gone on to play for Canada at the U20 level.

We’ll have those guys on the Team, plus players who have returned from overseas to compete for BC, like Ben Scher, who has been studying in England, and Fraser Hurst, who has been playing in New Zealand.

UVic Vikes’ and BC Rugby U19 Men’s Team fullback, Noah Bain stated “During training the atmosphere was light, but still serious and most of the team has been playing together for a couple years now.

He continued “Coaches Curry (Hitchborn) and Ken (Erikson) trust us, so we’ve clicked well quite quickly. We have high expectations to do well in Toronto and we know that we can fulfill them.”

Thanks to BC Rugby for the info. We wish them all the best during the event.